Mouse
by Tornado Ali
Summary: Merrill is crushed when he finds out something about Amie; Graham and Merrill have a fight. Note: This chapter is really messed up, I couldnt figue out how to change it. sorry :(
1. You think they'll come back dont you?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Signs, even though I wish I did.  
  
"Well," Graham sighed. "I guess we have to go in sometime." The family was sitting out side in the yard at the picnic table. They stared at the house. It stared back at them. Or that's what it looked like to Bo. To Morgan it was the body inside that taunted him.  
  
"Wait," Merril said. "Graham, I think we shoud talk about this ithoutway the hildrencay." Merril shot a meaningful glance at Bo and Morgan.  
  
Graham sighed again. "Bo, Morgan, go play for a while. Merril and I have to talk." Bo got up immediattly and reached for her brother's hand. But Morgan stayed frozen.  
  
"No," He said quietly.  
  
" Morgan, this is no time to argue. Now listen to your father and go play with your sister," said Merril, praying Morgan would listen to him the way he listened toGraham.  
  
"No! Im part of this family too! I should know whats going on, and what we are going to do."  
  
Graham sighed, but he had to admit that Morgan was right. He had been very obedient lately. Too obedient.  
  
"Morgan, I-we understand that you want to know what we are going to do. We promise that we won't make any big decisions with out you and Bo. But right now we need you to distract Bo. Please Morgan."  
  
Morgan thought it over. Finally he turned around and said "Hey Bo, do you want to play Hide and Seek tag?"  
  
As he ran off, Merril turned to Graham in amazement. "You underestimate yourself you know that? You don't me to help out with the kids. You're just fine on your own."  
  
"Oh I know that," said Graham nonchalently. " I just keep you around for entertainment."  
  
Merril laughed then looked off into the corn. He thought he saw movement, but dismissed it as a bird. But that didn't stop him from thinking.  
  
"You think they'll come back, don't you Merril?" said Graham, voicing Merrils thoughts.  
  
Merril thought for a moment. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back in there." He took a deep breath, and Graham could feel Merrils legs shaking under the table. "At least not while that thing is in there. Maybe we should take the kids into town and get them something to eat, and maybe talk to Carolyn about getting that thing removed."  
  
"Merril, I get the feeling that you don't want to hang here any longer than we have to," Graham looked at his brother carefully.  
  
"I don't know, Graham. There could still be more around here. How do we know there arent anymore here? They could still be in the crops. Or the attic," he paused. He looked up as Graham got up with a start. Merril looked at him, puzzeled and then it hit him.  
  
"The kids." He muttered.  
  
A/N: I know it sucks right now, but I think I might change it. I know the title doesn't make sense now, but it will later. Or it might not. I don't know yet. Tell me what you think. 


	2. Nervous Breakdown

"Bo! Morgan!" Merril yelled as loud at he could. If anything happened to those kids.  
  
"What? Whats wrong?" Morgan and Bo emerged from the crops. Graham looked as though he was about to have a nervous breakdown. He just stood there, trying to talk. Merril took over.  
  
"Did you guys see anything?" He asked gently, trying not to scare Bo. "No, why would we see anything, the aliens are gon.Oh..no, they're gone.. They're not gonna come back.. Are they Dad?" Morgan asked uncertainly.  
  
Graham shook his head. "No honey, they're not.. We just want.just want."  
  
"To be careful," Bo whispered.  
  
"Careful, exactly. Now you two promise me that you will not go anywhere without your uncle or me. Ok? Promise me."  
  
" If they arent coming back why do we have to be careful?" Morgan asked. Graham could tell he didn't belive a word that he or his uncle was saying.  
  
"Well, there could still be bodies, and .leftovers, and we just want you to be careful. So promise me," Graham looked at Bo, who was clutching he brother's hand like she was afraid to let go.  
  
"We promise," she said, both for herself, and her brother. Morgan nodded.  
  
"Ok then. Well, why don't we all go into town and get some ice cream?"  
  
  
  
10 minutes later, they were parking in front of the police station. "Why are we here?' Asked Morgan suspiciously.  
  
"Im going to talk to Carolyn about getting the house cleaned up." They all knew what he meant. "Merril, why don't you take Bo and Morgan down to Robinsons, and I'll meet you in half an hour right here."  
  
"I want to go with Dad," Bo announced. "Your not supposed to go anywhere by yourself, remember Dad?"  
  
"Bo, if you come with us, im sure uncle Merril will get you sprinkles," Morgan bribed.  
  
Bo thought. "Ok, but only if they're the chololate kind," she decided, and the three of them crosed the street.  
  
"Beaten by sprinkles," Graham thought to himself, as he walked to the police station.  
  
Across the street, Merril and Morgan were trying to stop Bo from crying. Not many stores had been broken into, but unfortunatly it looked like Robinsons had. The windows were broken and things were strewn everywhere.  
  
"Well, why don't we go to the candy store instead?" Bo stopped crying as they set down the street but still had an odd expression on her face.  
  
"Well, I guess not all the aliens can be bad. They obviously like ice cream," he said, attempting humor. Morgan looked at him like he was crazy, but he heard Bo giggle. Soon they were all laughing.  
  
When they got to the candy store, Merril bought them generous amounts of candy; some Popeye candy sticks for Graham and some Big League Chew for himself.  
  
As they walked toward the park, Merril started daydreaming, which he hardly ever did anymore.  
  
  
  
"Ok Merril, just remember, No Pressure, Ok? I want you to go out there, and decide for yourself how to swing. Its your choice, and I don't want you to think that just because this is our last swing, that we wont win the championships if you don't get a hit, that the team wont appreciate all of the other homeruns you've hit this season. Just go out there and.do your thing."  
  
"Nice speech coach," thought Merril, as he walked up to home plate. He knew that if he screwed up this play and lost the chapionships, that his team would be crushed. They would try to hide it, but he knew how much this game meant to them, and to him.  
  
He made the sign of the cross as he stepped up, and, looking up into the stands, he could see his older brother do the same thing. He took a deep breath and swung with all his might. He felt contact with the ball. Without even looking at the ball, his coach, his brother or the preety girl with red hair beside him; he ran.  
  
It wasn't untill he had reached home that he heard the crowd cheering for him. As his team crowded around him, his coach crying, he heard the announcer's voice over the P.A  
  
" Merril Hess, at 7 years old the youngest player on his team, the Tigers, has just won his team the Jr T-Ball Championships!"  
  
As Merril came out of his daydream, he laughed ironiccly at the fact that that had probably been the happiest baseball game he had ever played.  
  
"Um.Uncle Merril? You've been staring at that puddle for 10 minutes. We need to meet Dad soon," said Morgan, waving his hand in front of his uncle's face. Merril looked at his watch. Morgan was right. They had to meet Graham in 2 minutes. He got up from the bench he had been sitting on while the kids played in the park. As they walked back to where Graham had the car, Morgan asked him what he had been thinking about.  
  
"Oh, just something that happened when your Dad and I were kids," he replied.  
  
"Baseball?" asked Morgan tentatively.  
  
Merril snapped his head back to face Morgan. "How did you guess?"  
  
"Dad said almost all of your memories of when you were a kid were of baseball,"He said.  
  
"Did he?"  
  
"Yep," said Bo boldly. "He says you don't even remember when you almost burnt down your treehouse or flushed his golfish down the toilet when it was still alive, or---" She stopped when Merril raised his eyebrows and Morgan nudged her. Hard.  
  
"Look, there's Dad," said Morgan, pointing to the car. Graham was leaning against the side of the car.  
  
And he did not look happy. He looked as though he was about to have a nervous breakdown again. 


	3. Toughest man on my team

A/N Thank you for all the good reviews so far. I have some of the story on paper, but I thought it was kind of stupid and was going to change it, but if you like it now, maybe I wont. I hope I don't dissapoint you! Oh and Im sorry for spelling mistakes. I look it over twice before I upload it, but there is always something I forget.  
  
"What did you find out?" Merril asked slowly. Morgan and Bo were listening close by.  
  
"Nothing yet. Carolyn said she would go to the house and look things over. But she said that there have still been sightings in the surrounding areas, and to be on the look out," He rubbed the back of his neck. He looked like Merril felt. Exausted and dirty. All Merril wanted to do was jump in the shower and go to sleep.  
  
"I think we should take the kids out for lunch and then head home. I'll take Bo to get pizza, and you take Morgan for hamburgers." Merril must have looked confused, so Graham explained:  
  
"I want to stop an inevitable half-hour argument about where to eat, and I also want us to talk to the kids. It's been a really bad experience for them, and it might help if they talk for a bit."  
  
Merril agreed. Soon he and Morgan where sitting in a resturant booth picking at hamburgers. Merril didn't know what to say. He was no good at this kind of stuff. Morgan was just staring out the window at Graham and Bo across the street.  
  
"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked. Morgan jumped. "Nothing!" he said defensivly. He turned back to the window, but realizing Merril was staring at him, turned to face him.  
  
"Idnwnthmtcmbk," he muttered.  
  
"What?" asked Merril. Then he noticed Morgan was crying.  
  
"I don't---want---them-to come---back," he finally choked out.  
  
Merril didn't know what to do. He was afraid Morgan would have an athsma attack right here, and he didn't have his medicine.  
  
"Ok, calm down, take deep breaths Morgan. Now, listen to me. Nobody wants them to come back. But you know what happened this morning. There is someone watching out for this family. And no matter what happens, your Dad and I will take care of you ok? Are you ok now?" Merril was crying now too, and he noticed some people staring at him, but he didn't care. Morgan calmed down, and they started talking about more normal things, like baseball, and school.  
  
He loked out the window, and saw Graham and Bo crossing the street. He signaled for the bill, and he and Morgan walked out to join them. Both Graham and Bo looked a little teary, and as they drove home, everyone one was silent.  
  
Graham pulled up next to Carolyns marked police car. As he climbed out, he saw Carolyn, and two other officers sitting at the picnic table. Carolyn stood up when they approched, and she looked worried.  
  
"Hello Bo. Hi Morgan. How would you two like to play with Officer Luke for a while? I have a little surprise for you on the side of the house," Carolyn said, pointing. Officer Luke didn't look too happy about playing babysitter, but when Bo held out her hand to him, his face just melted.  
  
They all laughed as she led him to the side of the house. "Toughest man on my team," Carolyn remarked.  
  
Just then they all heard a loud shriek coming from the side of the house, followed by a yell. Graham and Merril took off running.  
  
A/N just thought I'd leave you on a bit of an edge. I wasn't sure if I was going to have aliens in this one, but I don't think I could write and good story without them. 


	4. Where have we seen this before?

Graham and Merril ran around the other side of the house. Both of them are thinking: Where have we seen this before?  
  
They reached the other side of the house and saw Bo and Morgan being licked by Issabel.  
  
He turned to Carolyn who had followed them. "Very funny Carolyn. Make us jump out of our skin with worry and it turns out you found our dog. Where was she?"  
  
"Wandering around in the crops," she smiled. But then the smile dissapeared. "It looked as though she had been tranquillized. Which brings me back to where I started. Graham, Merril, I think you'd better sit down."  
  
Graham didn't like the sound of this.  
  
"We have searched your entire property. We can't find the body anywhere. We think some others came and took it away," Graham felt his insides turn to ice. He cast a glance at Merril. His mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out.  
  
"So there are more of them. And they were here," he finally spit out. He didn't believe it. It couldn't happen again.  
  
Carolyn nodded. "Im afraid so. I think the best thing for you and you family would be to stay in a hotel tonight, and tommorow morning, head out of town. Tell the kids it's a vacation or something.  
  
Graham and Merril nodded. They both stood up. Merril went to get the kids, and Graham headed inside to pack. Carolyn followed him up the stairs. As he was throwing things into an overnight bag, sat on the bed.  
  
"Father? Promise me you'll keep those kids safe. They have been through so much. So have you and Merril. Promise me when you return, that those kids will not have a thought in their minds about what happened last night. Promise me,"  
  
Graham nodded, too choked up to speak. He finished packing and they made their way down the stairs. Merril and the kids were already in the car, suitcases and toys in the back. Graham turned to Carolyn and gave her a hug, and climbed into the car. They were driving along the road into town when Merril gasped.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I saw something in the tree," Graham looked back, but he didn't see anything.  
  
"Probably a squirrel or something," he replied, eyeing the rearveiw mirror. They were all looking out the windows now, but it was getting too dark to see anything.  
  
Graham parked at the only hotel in town. It almost couldn't be called a hotel, it was so small. It was only two floors, but it had a small indoor pool, and Graham promised Bo that he would take them swimming in the morning.  
  
They got into their room, and the kids fell into bed. Merril and Graham took turns with the shower and then did the same.  
  
A/N: Sorry this is a bit to short. I promise to update sometime this week, but it might not be untill at least Thursday. One more thing. Im not sure I like where this is going, it's taking too long to get the aliens in. If you don't like this please tell me so I can fix it. Thanks. 


	5. Vacation

A/N I have a couple things I need to clear up/explain. I know that Morgan probably wouldn't have been able to go out and all that so soon after his athsma attack, but I don't really know much about athsma, and I was really too lazy to research it. Also Im sorry I havent updated sooner, I know I said last Thursday, but now you will get to see it this Thursday instead. Any other problems please tell me. I like having people tell me my stuff sucks, because then I can fix it.  
"Daaad! You promised to take us swimming"  
  
"Uuuggg." Graham rolled over and squezzed his eyes against the sunlight steaming through the windows. He looked at the clock. 7:00. He rolled over and groaned.  
  
"Don't worry," he heard Merril yawn sleepily on the bed across from him. "Ill take them. Just give me two minutes."  
  
It took them 10. But eventually, they were all splashing around in the pool, playing Marco polo, and having relay races. Graham came down and joined them eventually, and stretched out on one of the lawn chairs with a week old newspaper. Five minutes later, Merrill hoisted himself out and grabbed a towel from the desk, where a smiling lifegurd was sitting. Graham shook his head. "What?" asked Merrill, smiling inocently. But he smiled too. Both he and Graham had always been able to get any girl they wanted when they were younger. But Graham had fallen in love with Colleen when he was 10, and that had been it for him.  
  
"Youll have her number by the time we leave," Graham teased.  
  
"What are you talking about? You know I don't just ask out any girl I meet. I have to get to know her first. And then I ask her out," he dfended himself.  
  
"Oh yeah? What about that girl who came into the gas station last month? The one you took out to dinner that same night? What was her name again Merrill?"  
  
"Ok, that was an exeption. But any other girl in this town I would get to know first, before I asked them out,"  
  
"No you wouldn't. You've already asked out every girl in this town. You were finished a month after you came back,"  
  
"Okay, okay, lay off," He settled back into his chair and closed his eyes. "So what are we going to do next?" He asked, opening one eye and glancing at Graham.  
  
Graham didn't answer at first. "Collen had an uncle who had a cottage by a lake. I think we should go there for a while. The kids can go swimming, we can relax. And then we can come back and things will go on as ussual."  
  
Merrill took this all in. He didn't think it could ever go completely back to normal. Every thing had changed too much. He settled back into the chair and stared absentmindedly at the kids. They had their legs over the edge of the pool and were tryingto see how long they could hold on.  
  
"Dad! Morgans cheating! He's trying to push me in!"  
  
"Morgan, don't push your sister in," Graham said atomaticly. "Come to think of it, you guys should probably get out now." A chorus of 'No five more minutes' followed this announcement. Graham sat back in his seat. Merrill had a feeling that Graham hadn't really intended for them to get out yet.  
  
"Listen, Graham, you know, after you got outside, and you said all that stuff about how Morgan had athsma for a reason? Well did you really mean that? You really think it was a miracle don't you? It wasn't just a spur of the moment thing was it?" Merrill held his breath. He hoped Graham wouldn't say that he didn't really believe what he had said earlier.  
  
"I belived it," Graham said distractedly. Bo and Morgan had been under the water for a while. But in a few seconds they both resurfaced and Graham breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Merrill and then did a double take when he saw the look on his face.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Im just.. I don't know. I just happy that you realize that.. Oh Im no good at this. Help me out Graham!"  
  
"I know what you mean. Don't worry. Well we better get going. Bo, Morgan, I've given you ten extra minutes. Time to get out," After some groaning, they got out and toweled off. As they made their way back to the hotel room, Morgan asked: "Are we going home now?"  
  
Graham was surprised neither of the kids had comented yet on the fact that they were in a hotel that was less than five minutes from their house. "Well, Merrill and I have decided that we are going to take a little vacation, and we can all relax. The schools still havent opened, and we think it will be fun for all of us," Graham explained. Morgan looked at him.  
  
"Dad! You promised you wouldn't make any decisions with out us! And you did it again!" Morgan accused angrily. "Bo and I want to go home!" Bo nodded her head in silent aggreement. Graham sighed.  
  
"I know you want to go home. We all want to go home. And Morgan, I assure you, that this was not a final decision. We just thought it would be fun if we went away for awile. Im sorry if I was wrong," Graham hung his head in shame. Merrill almost burst out laughing. He could see Graham was also fighting not to smile. But Morgan and Bo didn't notice.  
  
"Alright, you're forgivin. But where are we going?"  
  
"Well do you remember how we went to the cottage that summer two years ago? I think that that where we'll go," Graham answered. "That is, if its ok with you guys," He added quickly. Morgan and Bo noded.  
  
"Ok, then lets pack up and get on the road," Merrill said cheerfully.  
  
"Should we wake up the kids?" Merrill asked as they pulled into an all night drive-thru.  
  
"If they get hungry we can stop again," Graham said drowsilly. They had been driving all day and it was now 9. He and Merrill had taken turns driving and sleeping all day. It was Merrils turn now.  
  
"How far are we now," Merrill asked after they were on the road again. He glanced over when there was no response. "Graham?" he shook his shoulder. "Huh? What? Oh," He saw Merrill, and the colour returned to his face. "What?" he asked, rubbing his face with his hands.  
  
"How much farther?" Merrill asked glancing at Graham occasionally.  
  
"Oh.uh where are we?" Graham asked, squinting out the window. It was too dark to see anything.  
  
"Uh.lets see, we passed the cheesy dinner, went around the rotten tree stump and went over the hill with the funny looking trees," He joked.  
  
"About half an hour if you stay on this road," Graham replied seriously.  
  
Merrill looked at his brother in disbelief. "I was joking," he said.  
  
"I know," replied Graham. "So was I," he turned to Merrill with a smile. Merrill looked at him then back at the road. Them back at him again. Then they both broke out laughing. Graham looked behind him to check on the kids.  
  
"Hey, is it just me, or is Bo burning up?"  
  
Merrill looked in the rearveiw miror. It was kind or hard to tell in this light. He flipped on the car light. Bo's face was definetly flushed.  
  
Morgan woke up. Merrill smilled a bit when he rubbed his face the same way Graham did. "Where are we?" he asked dazed.  
  
"Morgan honey? Can you feel Bo's forehead for us?" Graham asked worridly. Morgan leaned over and put his wrist on Bo's forehead.  
  
"I don't know," he said, puzzeled. "She feels normal, but he face is getting redder," Both Merrill and Graham looked into the mirror. Morgan was right.  
  
"Well, we'll see how she is when we get to the cottage. Were almost there now, just turn here---"  
  
Merrill swerved the car so hard it felt as though they wereon only two wheels.  
  
"What the heck was that?" Graham breathed.  
  
"I-I saw something, must have been a deer. It ran right in front of us. Im sorry I-- lost control," Merrill was breathing hard; Graham had never seen him like that before.  
  
(A/N: Ok, you all know it wasn't a deer right? I thought so. Just checking. Continue reading. Now. Go on. Right now. Period.)  
  
"Merrill its ok, calm down. It's happened before. Come on, get out, I'll drive," Merril go out and walked to the other side. Graham could see his eyes darting to the forest. Graham took a deep breath as he started the car. Amazingly Bo hadn't woken up. But Morgan looked really tense. "Morgan? Relax. Were fine. We'll be at the cottage in about twenty minutes," Morgan nodded. Graham was surprised he hadn't had another attack. 


	6. 104

They pulled into the rocky driveway and stopped the car. It was about 11:00. Graham stepped out of the car, and sniffed the air. He loved it here. The summer with Collen had been the best time.. But he didn't want to think about it. He quickly wiped his eyes, opened the back car door, and lifted Bo up. She hadn't woken up once. Graham felt her head again. She was definetly burning up.  
  
"Come on," He gestured towards Merrill and a still tense Morgan. Still carrying Bo, he found the hidden key in the flowerpot next to the door. He could see both Merill and Morgan glancing at the forest now. He dismissed it and walked in, and flicked on the light. The place looked the same. Graham guessed nobody had been here since they had. He could see Morgan wipe his eyes out of the corner of his eye. He set Bo down on the couch.  
  
"Wow, she's really turning red," Merrill commented."Maybe we should get her to bed,"  
  
Graham nodded. "Do you want the upstairs or the downstairs bedroom?"  
  
Merril thought. "Downstairs. You can keep an eye on the kids,"  
  
"Okay. Im going to put the kids to bed. Can you see if there is any food or anything in the cabinets?"  
  
When Merrill nodded, Graham took Bo and led Morgan up the stairs. He tucked Bo into one side of the bed without getting her undressed. Then he tucked Morgan in.  
  
"Tell me if she wakes up ok?"Morgan nodded. Graham plugged in a nightlight.  
  
"Dad?" Morgan added hesitantly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Tommorow, if Bo's feeling better, can we go into town and buy some books? I forgot mine at home," He finished.  
  
"Sure," Graham said after a second. "Why didn't you bring some books with you?" He was curious. Morgan loved to read. His and Bo's room was overflowing with books. He had been reading since he was 4 years old. Even if Morgan had thought they were only going away for 1 night, he still would have brought books with him.  
  
"I don't know," he answered. "I guess I just want some new ones," His face was buried under the covers and he was almost half-asleep. Graham shook his head and backed out of the room. He went downstairs to check on Merrill and then he fell into the comfy bed in the room he and Colleen had shared. It surprised him how close he felt to crying.  
  
"This is ridiculus," he whispered to himself as he turned over. He tosed and turned. He got up and checed on the kids. They were both fast asleep, so he felt Bo's forehead. She was still hot, and seemed to only be getting worse. He went downstairs and found a few paper cups. He filled them with water and brought them upstairs next to the bed. Then e checked on Merrill, who also seemed to be fast asleep. He sighed. He had hoped to have someone to talk to. He didn't know what to do next. He couldn't turn on the T.V,t would probably wake everyone up. He put on some hot water and tried to find some tea in the cupboards. All he could find was hot chocolate.  
  
He smiled a bit. Morgan and Colleen had loved hot chocolate. Well, they actually just liked the marshmellows. They had invented a desert from them. They would push as many marshmellows As they could into their mugs, and when all the hot chocolate had soaked up into the marshmellows they would scoop it into a bowl and mix graham crackers and chocolate sauce in. Graham used to pretend to throw up every time they made it. Morgan used to get so hyper when he was done, they practicly had to tie him to a chair. But Morgan hadn't eaten it since Colleen had died.  
  
Graham took the hot chocolate and sat on the couch. But he found he wanted to breathe fresh air so he walked out to the porch. He looked up untill he saw the familiar sight of the Big Dipper. He slowly walked down the steps untill he was standing at the edge of the dock, and sat down.  
  
  
  
Merrill heard Graham come down stairs. He could hear him standing in the doorway, and pretended to be asleep. He knew Graham wanted to talk, and he didn't feel like comforting Graham at the moment. He heard the sliding door slide close, and he started breathing normally again. He flipped over on his back and sighed. He felt guilty for not talking to Graham, but he felt tired of saying something to comfort himself, and having it beaten to the ground. He was really tired, and it was about 2:00 in the morning. He turned over a couple of times,before finally falling asleep.  
  
"Uncle Merrill? Uncle Merrill?" Merrill shut his eyes tight and tried to block out the sound. But someone was shaking his shoulder too. Finally he opened his eyes and tried to focus. He vaguly saw a shape that resembled Morgan. He jerked awake and at up.  
  
"What is it?" He asked, sitting up, worried. Where was Graham? Why hadn't Morgan gone to him instead?  
  
"Its Bo. I think she's having a nightmare. She's crying and wimpering, and she is really burning up," Morgan said. Merrill got up walked up the stairs with Morgan. Bo was twisted up in the sheets. She was crying and talking to someone. Merrill went over to her and untangled her from the shets. He lifted her onto his lap and tried to wake her up. Morgan had been right. She was burning up very fast, but she was shivering uncontrolably.  
  
"Bo. Bo wake up. You have to wake up. Morgan, see if theres a thermometer around here. Check your Dads room. Wake him up while you're at it," He paused and tried to shift Bo so that she would wake up.  
  
"He's not there," Morgan replied as he stared worridly at his sister.  
  
Merrill snapped his head to Morgan. 'Where is he? Oh never mind, can you just get the thermometer?" Merrill groaned. Where was Graham when he needed him? He carried Bo to the adjoining bathroom. Struggling, he turned on the cold water. Morgan came back with the thermometer. They held Bo steady on the toilet seat, and Merill stuck the thermometer in her mouth. It beeped and he pulled it out. 104 deggrees.  
  
"Christ," He muttered. He and Morgan got Bo undressed and put her in the bathtub. She finally woke up. She was shivering like crazy, Merill wasn't sure putting her in the cold water was such a good idea, but he had seen Graham do it when Morgan was much younger and had a fever.  
  
"Morgan, are you sure your father's not in his room? Can you check again?"  
  
"He's not there. I checked,"  
  
Merrill sighed heavilly again. "Can you check out side? I think he might be there." Morgan went down the stairs and Merrill tried to talk to Bo to keep her from falling asleep. A few minutes later, they could hear Graham taking the steps two at a time. He ran into the bathroom and knelt on the floor.  
  
"We should take her temperature," He suggested.  
  
"I already did. It's 104. We have to take her to a hospital."  
  
"The nearest Hospital is at least half an hour away. We should probably wait untill tommorow. She might be better by then."  
  
"I don't know Graham," He said, trying to hold Bo up so she wouldn't slip under the water. "Look at her, she's shivering like theres no tommorow. I don't thinkit would be a good idea to wait untill tommorow. Look, if you don't want to drive, I'll take her myself. I don't want her to get any worse."  
  
Graham nodded slowly. "We'll all go," He stood up. "I'll get her dressed. You go find some blankets and get the car started. Tell Morgan to get in the car and not bother getting dressed," He pulled Bo out of the bath and wrapped her in a towel. Merrill ran down the stairs and pulled the blanket off his bed. He grabbed the keys of the table and saw Morgan sitting on the couch, also shivering.  
  
"Morgan? Are you ok? Are you sick too?" Morgan shook his head and stood up. He followed Merrill out to the car and climed into the back seat. Merrill wrapped the blanket around him, and went inside to grab another blanket. He walked out side again and stooped short. Graham came up behind him and Merrill put his hand in front of him to stop him from going any further.  
  
There was an alien standing on the other side of their car. And it was looking right at them.  
  
A/N: This chapter is a bit messed up because my computer went kind of screwy. I will update again as soon as I fix up the next chapter. 


	7. Run Merrill

A/N Crappy chapter, but I had to update. Im working on chapter eight and it should be up by the end of the weekend.  
  
There was no baseball bat. They were by a lake, but Morgan was still in the car. Graham looked at Morgan. He had seen the alien. He was staying perfectly still. He wasn't sure if it had seen him yet. The alien shifted its head.  
  
Morgan could have smacked himself. Why hadn't he asked his dad to stay in a hotel last night? Of course there were still aliens around. Some had come back to pick up the wounded. Just because they were beside a lake didn't mean the aliens couldn't hide in the forest.  
  
Merrill was panicing. There was no baseball bat. There were no water glasses. They were beside a lake, but what good would that do, with Morgan stuck in the car, and Bo practicly passed out? Think! He told himself. What would Graham do?  
  
Graham didn't move a muscle. He couldn't move. Please, he prayed silently. Please, make it go away. Don't let it hurt Morgan. Make it go away. He shifted his eyes to Bo. She was staring at him, not blinking. She knew what was behind her.  
  
"Merrill," Graham said queitly. "Run." Merrill looked at him.  
  
What in the hell was Graham talking about? If he ran the alien would chase after him.Oh.  
  
"On the count of three. One.two." Merrill took off. He saw the alien look at him. Exactly the way it had when he grabbed the bat. He ran, as hard as he could, toward the lake. But he made it look like he was about to turn. The alien, after about a seconds hesatation, ran after him. Actually, it couldn't even be described as a run. In two steps, in one second, it had covered the distance between the car and the small shed. Merrill ran faster. He could feel it bearing down on him. He ran into the lake, kept running untill he fell over. He realized later what a mistake it had been.  
  
The alien had seen it coming and stopped, and then started running back to the car. Fortunatly, Graham had already gotten Bo and himself into the car and had started the car. He started speeding down the drivway, even though he doubted that the alien could get in the car when it was locked and moving. He was right, and after about thirty seconds, it stopped chasing them. He kept speeding, untill they got on the main road. He looked at the back seat, and saw Morgan and Bo both shaking.  
  
"Morgan? Bo? It's going to be ok. Were going to go to a hospital. Don't worry," He blabbered. He could tell he wasn't convincing.  
  
"What about unc-c-cle Merrill?" Morgan asked, his teeth chattering.  
  
"He'll be fine. I'll go back and pick him up after we get to the hospital," Even as he said it, Graham could feel his stomach twisting in guilt. Some brother he was. Leaving his little brother in the lake with an alien in the forest, maybe more. He felt tears clouding his vision, and he wipd them away hurridly, and they coninued in silence to the hospital.  
Merrill swam out as far as he could into the lake. He could see the alien come back into veiw as he looked behind him. He knew it probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world to swim to the other side, but at the moment, that seemed to be the best option. He spotted the ancored dock that someone has secured to the bottem of the lake and pulled himself onto it. He lay flat on his back and tried to catch his breath. Eventually, he sat up and looked towards the shore to see if the alien was still there. It wasn't, and he gave a sigh of relief, even though he knew it was probably still around the cottage, waiting for someone to come back.  
A/N like I said, crappy chapter. I think maybe I went a bit too far with Merrill running, but it was the only way I could see them getting out of the situation. Chapter 8 soon. 


	8. Pedimotrics

A/N: Do I have to put a disclaimer in all my chapters? Oh well. Can you guys tell me if my sentences are okay? I know that's a weird request, but I think I might have too many sentences that repeat themselves. Thank you!  
"Please, can we see a doctor now? We've been waiting over an hour," Graham asked the receptionist in the emergency room. He had Bo in one arm, and he could feel her losing consciousness  
  
"I'm sorry, there are a lot of other patients here we need to help. Maybe if you go up to pediatrics they can help you there, but I'm not promising anything," She glanced at Bo, and said "Cute kid," and then went back to what ever it was that she had been doing. Graham walked back to where Morgan was sitting and shook him awake.  
  
"Where are we?" asked Morgan groggily.  
  
"We're in the emergency room," Graham had to practically shout over the volume in here.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Um.upstairs. To Pedi.something or other," Graham told him.  
  
"Pediatrics?"  
  
"Yeah, that's it," Graham answered distractedly as the waited for the elevator.  
  
"It looks like something of E.R here," Morgan observed. When he realized what he had said he looked up at his Dad and braced himself for what was coming.  
  
Graham sighed exasperatly. "Don't tell me Merrill's been letting you watch that again? He knows it gives you and Bo nightmares,"  
  
"Dad, it gives you nightmares, not us," Graham ignored him, and they stepped onto the elevator.  
  
Merrill searched the shore for the 5th time for the alien. He wanted to be absolutely sure before he swam back there. He decided he would swim to the other side and ask someone for a lift to the hospital. He hoped Graham wouldn't come back looking for him. He scanned the shore one more time before jumping back into the water. He started swimming to the other side, but noticed someone swimming towards him. He swam harder, trying to get a better view of the person.  
  
"Hey!" He yelled. "Hey can you hear me?" The person made no response, but kept swimming towards him. Merrill looked closer. Damn it, I've got to get glasses, he thought to himself, for the umpteenth time. It was definitely a person, he could see that much, even though he couldn't see their face. They seemed to be having a hard time staying afloat. Merrill looked around him worriedly. He didn't see any boats around. If this guy---or girl were to drown, Merrill would be the only one around, and he didn't trust his strength this early in the morning, especially after only getting a few hours sleep. He looked at the person again, and it seemed like they would go under any minute.  
  
"Hey," he shouted again. "Do you need some help?" Again they didn't acknowledge him, and Merrill doubted now that they understood English. He swam closer, trying to get a better view. Just then the person went under, and Merrill swam as hard as he could, trying to get to them. They resurfaced again, and this time he was close enough. Definitely, too close.  
"Dad, shouldn't you go get uncle Merrill now?" Asked Morgan impatiently as he paced around the room. Graham looked at his watch, realizing that the had again, been waiting for an hour, which meant that in total, Merrill had been alone for two and a half hours now.  
  
"I cant leave you here alone," He said, knowing full well that within ten minutes he would be driving back to the cottage, Morgan having convinced him that he was fine in the hospital alone.  
  
"Dad, come on, get real," Morgan said impatiently. Graham sighed and said, "Ill be back in an hour. If there's a problem, talk to one of the nurses. Don't talk to any strangers. Don't take candy from stra.." He trailed off, because he knew Morgan was ignoring him. He kissed him on the head and started walking down the long, white corridor. As soon as he was out of Morgan's sight, he started to run.  
"Merrill! MERRILL!" Graham shouted as loud as he could from inside the car. There was no way he was going to get out at this point. He pressed as hard as he could on the horn. He drove a bit closer to the shore of the lake, wondering if maybe Merrill had swum to the other side and gotten a drive to the hospital. Just then he saw a vague shape sitting on an anchored dock in the middle of this portion of the lake.  
  
"Merrill!" He shouted again, knowing that Merrill probably couldn't see him because of his eyes.  
  
"Graham!" Came back a faint reply. "Where are you? I cant see you," Graham could hear Merrill shout.  
  
"That's because you need glasses Merrill," Graham replied jokingly. "I'm sitting in the car at the shore. I'm going to come get you in the boat, ok?"  
  
"Ok, but Graham, be careful when you get out of the car. Look carefully," Merrill shouted.  
  
Graham looked carefully. Then he bolted out of the car as fast as he could towards the dock where the tiny motorboat was tied. He kept imagining that he could feel footsteps behind him, and didn't look back until he reached the boat. When he did look back, there was nothing behind him, so he tried to remember how to start the thing. He fiddled with the thingies and the whatchamacallits until the boat started up. And stalled. He pulled it three more times until it was running smoothly. Then he guided it somewhat crookedly towards Merrill. When he was close enough, he noticed that there was something else lying on the dock next to Merrill. He reached the dock, and stopped the boat in pulling up next to Merrill. Merrill stayed in his position too, legs pulled up, and arms around his knees. Graham stared at the thing on the dock for the longest time before either of them spoke.  
  
"Um, Merrill. There's a dead alien lying on the dock next to you." Merrill turned around slowly until he was looking at the alien, and then turned back to Graham.  
  
"Huh. Funny I didn't notice that before," He said. He climbed into the boat and he and Graham switched places so that Merrill could start the boat up. Neither of them said a word until they reached the shore.  
  
"You want to tie the boat up while I check the car out?" Graham asked. Merrill nodded and Graham walked over to the car. He checked the entire thing, including the wide back. He remember that whenever they went driving at night, Morgan and Bo would check the back for axe murderers. Merrill came over and they both climbed into the front seats.  
  
Graham decided to cut to the chase. "What happened?" He said quietly. Merrill stared out the window at the tree's moving quickly by before he said anything.  
  
"I was on the dock. I had looked around me five times before I jumped off. I was planning on swimming to the other side and asking someone for a ride to the hospital. I saw this guy swimming towards me. I couldn't see his face, because, well, you know," He said sheepishly.  
  
"Its okay. When the doctors say Bo is okay we'll see if there is an octomonotrist in the building.  
  
"Optometrist," Merrill corrected with a smile. Then his face turned serious again. "The kids, did you leave them at the hospital alone?'  
  
Graham's face looked guilty, then he said defensively: "Would you rather me stayed there, and let you rescue more unidentified creatures from the lake?" Merrill didn't respond.  
  
"So what happened after that?"  
  
"Well, this guy, I yelled to him and he didn't respond. It looked like he was having trouble staying above the water. So I swam closer, and he went under. When he resurfaced I realized: "Nice going Merrill. Why don't you swim a bit closer to a creature that wants to kill you and poison your family?"  
  
"So I swam away, and it must of drowned or something, because the next time I saw it, its corpse? Can I call it that? Was floating by me. So I lifted it on to the dock,---"  
  
"You touched it?" Graham said, with the disgust of a 10 year old who found out his brother had kissed a girl.  
  
"Well, I didn't want, like, fish eating it. And besides, when it touched Morgan, his skin didn't get infected or anything," He didn't bring up the subject of the whole water/ Alien subject. He figured they'd have enough time to talk about it later.  
  
Graham pulled into the hospital parking lot, and they both got out. As they were walking towards the elevator, Merrill remarked: "Wow, this looks just like a scene from---" He stopped himself just in time and grinned at Graham.  
  
They stepped onto the elevator and Graham said: "On to Pediomoligy!"  
A/N I know I kind of stopped abruptly but I'd rather save the other stuff for the next chapter. Next chapter might not be for a while, I have so much homework this semester but I'll try to update soon. Oh yeah, and for my Morgan story, I'm not abandoning I will update---as soon as I write the next chapter Lol. Thanks for reviewing! 


	9. NyygghhIm sleeping

A/N: A talkie chapter. Some of the conversation is a bit rushed, try to follow it. Oh and I don't own Signs or Kleenex (in case there's someone who thinks I am the rich billionare who owns Kleenex). Maybe I should put one of these things ® Nyeah too lazy.

………………………………………….

"Nnyyggg…Leave me alone. Im sleeping"

"Ahh, the wonderful sound of Graham in the morning. It brings me such joy," Merrill said sarcasticly as he shook Graham awake.

"Come on, Bo's awake. The doctors say that she can go home in a few hours," Merrill shifted uncomfortably in the hard hospital chair. They had been there overnight, waiting for the doctors to bring Bo's fever down.

"I feel like I have sawdust in my mouth. Is there a water fountain around here somewhere?" Merrill pointed down the hall and Graham shuffled toward it. Merrill looked over at Morgan, half on- half off two chairs that he was sleeping on. Merrill lifted him back onto the chair.

Graham came back down the hall, looking more awake. "What time is it?"

Merrill consulted his watch. "9:11.The doctors said we can see Bo in a few minutes,"

"And what day is it?"

"Saturday," Graham nodded. A doctor came out of the room infront of them and signalled them to come in. They both left Morgan to sleep on the chairs.

They came into the small hospital and sat on chairs beside the bed.

"Hi Daddy," said Bo in a small little voice.

"Hi Baby, how are you feeling?" He said as he stroked her hair.

"My skin hurts." Graham shot Merrill a worried look.

"Your skin hurts?" He asked quizzicly.

"Sure Dad," said Morgan as he came into the room. "You know when your feeling really sick and you kind of hurt all over and everything rubs you the wrong way. Your skin hurts."

"Hi Morgan."

"Hi Bo, did you get to eat any Popsicles?"

"Only one. They said that they'd bring some more later, and that you can have one."

"Alright! Did you get a pink one?" 

"N'uh-uh. They said they were all out of pink, but they had rainbow. I guess there are a lot of people in the hospital that like pink," Another worried look was extanged between Graham and Merrill. There were probably many people in the hospital due to the invasion.

The doctor cut in. "We've gotten her teperature down, but she'll need to rest for a few more days before any strenuess activity. She can go home now, just remember what I said," Graham could see the tired look on the doctor's young face. 

"Have you been really busy lately?"

"What a question. It has been an exausting lat couple of days. This town wasn't hit hard but the surrounding hospitals have been sending us extra patients. Mostly children. We've fortuanatly maneged to save most of them, but the others…" Her voice broke and it took her a couple seconds before she could speak again.

"They really must have been monsters, to just kill so willingly kill little children," Her eyes filled with tears, and Merrill offered her a Kleenex from the table beside the bed. She wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I'll be right back. She rushed out of the room. They were all silent for a moment.

"Well honey, how do you feel about going home now?"

"Home to Bucks County?" She asked hopefully.

"No, not yet. But were going to go back to the cottage, and in a few days you can go swimming."

Bo thought about it. "Okay, but only if Morgan promises not to dunk or splash me."

"I promise," Morgan said

"Good. Now, let's get you changed and go home. Hey, wheres Merrill?"Graham looked around

"I think he went after that doctor," Said Morgan.

…………………………………………..

"Hey! Wait up. Merrill chased the doctor down the hall. She turned and looked at him curiously. 

"Oh, hi. Um…sorry about that back there. I guess I tend to get a little to emotional sometimes," She wiped her eyes again.

"That's okay. It's been an emotional time for all of us," She smiled "Why did you decide to work at a hospital than? Kind of a hard place to work for you isn't it?" Merrill asked, hoping he didn't offend her. "I mean if you get emotional a lot."

"Actually, I have my own clinic in the town. I was called in as a replacement after the invasions," she replied. She didn't seem offended by his question, so Merrill took the next step and asked her to sit on one of the chairs lining the hall. She accepted.

"Did you lose any family in the invasion?" He asked. At this, she started sobbing. Merrill looked around and found another box of Kleenex on a table. _Man_, he thought, _they have it all over this place_. He handed her a handful and she buried her face in them. He patted her back awkwardly.

She finally lifted her head. "I—I'm sorry about that,"

"God, don't appozigize. It was my fault. I shouldn't have asked that question."

She smiled, and it brightened her whole face. "No, it's okay. But let me ask you the same question," she said. 

"Fair enough. No, I didn't lose any of my family that I know of. The only family I've stayed in contact with is Graham and the kids. Ever since I stopped playing in the minor league, people have stoped trying to market being related to me," He looked at her to see her reaction. 

"Huh, I thought I recognized you. Why did you stop playing?" Merrill was surprised that she hadn't added, "Weren't they paying you enough money" at the end of the sentence like most people did.

"I guess, after awile, you just start to suck more and more," he said, without bitterness.

He noticed her studying his face, and he said defensivly,"What?" She looked down at the ground, and there were a few seconds of awakward silence.

"It was my nephew Jason," She said quitly, still looking at the ground.

"Pardon? Oh! Oh I'm so sorry. How old was he?"

"Seven. Only seven. I've been looking after him ever since his father, my brother died of cancer three years ago."

"How did they get him? If you don't mind me asking?"

"The gas. I guess I should be thankful. Others were killed much more bruttaly. How did you escape?"

"We stayed in the basement. Where wre you?"

"We were in the bathroom. One of them broke in and grabbed him. After the gas, I saw him go limp…Oh it was so horrible I can't even describe it. Then it just…took him away. It didn't even try to get me. Just walked out, and they all left. I was in such shock I just fainted onto the floor," She was crying again. 

"Merrill? Were going now…oh what's wrong? Are you all right?" Graham walked over to them, Bo in his arms. 

"Nothing. I'm okay now. I'd better get back to work. Thanks for talking to me Merrill," she wiped her eyes and stood up. She ruffeled Bo's hair. "No running around for a few days, okay sweetie?"

Bo nodded her head. "Okay. Thanks for the Popscicle." 

"Your welcome honey. Well I'll see you guys later. Here's my buissness card, if you have any questions or the fever goes up again," She said, and started walking down the hall.

Merrill glanced at the card. "Wow. That's weird," He said as they waited for the elevator. He stuck the card in his pocket. 

"What's weird?" asked Graham.

'Huh? Oh, nothing she just…went to the same university as a friend of mine," Graham didn't ask why her university was named on her buissness card.

They reached the car and the kids got in the back. Merrill was silent the rest of the way back to the cottage. He was thinking about what the buisness card had said.

Dr. Colleen Amie Leblanc M.D. 

General Practictioner

Rocky Stream Family Clinic

Home Phone: 555-2759

Clinic Phone: 555-1632

Fax: 555-0149

A/N I love athours notes! Has anyone here heard Norah Jones song, Seven years? This is weird but it kind of reminded me of Bo. I guess that shows how obsesed I am. J 


	10. Tap Water

"How are you certain this is going to work?" Merrill asked as he filled some more glasses and set them on the table. 

Graham walked in from the bedroom. "Well, I think that they're only affected by tap water. That's why the alien could swim in the lake. Did you notice any blisters when you pulled it onto the dock?"

Merrill thought. "No," he replied "but why would that be?"

Morgan offered his opinion. "Probably because of all the chemicals we put into the water today. Chlorine, stuff to get rid of the chlorine, stuff to get rid of the stuff that gets rid of the chlorine, and who knows what else?" 

"Where'd you figure that out?" He asked his nephew.

"Dad came up with it. I'm just a playback machine. I'm not smart. I just sound like it because I repeat stuff smart people say," He joked.

"Graham figured that out? You know you're smarter than I thought," Merrill teased. "For a Reverend," He ducked as Graham sprayed water his way from the tap. It splashed off the table, dripping onto the floor. 

"You're cleaning that up," Merrill smirked. Graham shook his head and tossed the paper towels toward's Merrill's general direction. He caught them with a laugh and started moping up the water.

"I'm going to go up to the grocery store. We desperatly need the food. Morgan, do you want to come?" Morgan shook his head.

"I wanna go!" said Merrill forelornly.

"Why? Someone has to stay here with the kids," Graham looked at Merrill.

"We can stay by ourselves. I can watch Bo," Morgan offered. 

"Well…Ok. Merrill if you really want to go, get in the car," Merrill jumped up and ran to the car. He slightly resembled a nervous rabbit.

"He sure is exited," Graham commented. It was a retorical statement, but Morgan decided to add his opinion.

"Havent you figured it out yet? It's the doctor at the hospital. He's totally in love with her," He commented from the couch, where he was reading a book.

Graham shook his head and walked out to the car. Once they were on the road Merrill asked him: "Hey do you think you could drop me of near the hospital? I saw an intresting convienence store near there,"he said, and Graham could see his ears were turning slightly red.

"Morgan was right," Graham laughed.

"Right about what?"

"You are 'Tottally in love with her' His words not mine,"

"I am not!"

"You sound like Bo. I'll drop you off near the hospital so you can see Doctor…what was her name?"

"Doctor LeBlanc."

"Ahh, yeah that's it. But what was her first name?" Merrill was silent.

"Merrill?" Merrill looked at him. "What was her name?" Merrill mumbled something incoherant.

"Yes, that was it. So, what are you planing to say to Dr. Mmblewhichunk LeBlanc? For real, what's her name?'

"Colleen, okay? Her names Colleen. I didn't want to tell you because I though you'd be weirded out by it!" Graham was silent. "Look, if it makes you uncomfortable, I won't ask her out."

"I'm not weirded out by it. It's just a pretty big coincidence isn't it?"

"Maybe it's another sign," said Merrill carefully.

"Maybe. But what would it mean?" Merrill was happy that Graham seemed to have gotten away from the "I hate God, nothing means anything" phase. Even after the invasion, he hadn't been sure Graham was through it.

"I don't know. But she is so hot!" Merrill said.

"She is very attractive," Graham aggreed. 

They pulled up beside the hospital, and Merrill got out. 

"What are you planning to do when you get in there?" Graham asked. Merrill's face showed that he had no idea.

"Well, I suppose I'll see if she's there first. Maybe I'll ask her for her number?"

"Well, you already have her number, don't you? She gave you her buisness card."

"Right, right," Merrill ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I guess I'll see if she want's to do something later or something. Maybe we can go down to the cafeteria or something."

"Okay, well, if you're going to be longer than an hour, I'll be across the street."

"Thanks Graham," Merrill said as he slammed the door. Graham waved as he drove away.

Merrill walked through the sliding glass doors and into the cool interior of the hospital. He looked around for the receptionist desk and walked toward it.

"Hi, could you tell me were I could find Dr LeBlanc?" He said, as politely as he could.

"Which one?" She asked

"Um…there's more then one? Uh…Colleen LeBlanc please."

"You must mean Amie. She's off duty right now, but would you like to see her husband, Jonathan LeBlanc?"

Merril couldn't speak for a minute. "She's married?"

"Yes, I believe so. Would you like to see him?" Merrill walked away with out answering. He walked across the street and into the grocery store. He found Graham trying to decide between 2% and 1% milk.

"She's married" Merrill announced. Graham turned around and saw the look on Merrill's face.

"I'm sorry Merrill," Graham consoled. "So you asked her? What did you say?"

"No, I didn't ask her. I found out at the reception desk. Her husband is named Jonathan or something, I didn't exactly stick around for the details," Merrill said sadly.

"Come on, lets go home," said Graham, leading him out of the store. ……………………………………………

"I'm sorry Uncle Merrill," said Morgan, trying to make him feel better. Merrill was streched out across one side of the L-shaped couch. 

"Thanks," said Merrill tonelessly. He sat up and looked out the sliding glass doors onto the porch where Graham was fooling around with the water heater. He flopped back down and reached for the remote control.

"Guess what I discovered?" Morgan said excitedly. "We we have Satilite T.V. I looked through the onscreen guide. We get about five Discovery Channels!" Merrill laughed at his nephews exited tone.

"Anyhing that intrests me?" He asked, as he flipped on the T.V

"Wee-ell… We can see any baseball game that is on T.V at any given time. Major League, Minor league, even those local baseball games they sometimes put on T.V. And I think about 10 different MTV's," He added laughingly.

"Great. That should numb our minds for a couple hours."

Bo's yell carried down the stairs. Morgan looked at Merrill and got up. Knowing Bo, it was probably another nightmare. Merrill forced himself off the couch and slowly followed Morgan up the stairs.

…………………………………

Graham had heard Bo scream from upstairs. He figured she was just having a nightmare, and Merrill would probably check on her. He stepped back from the water heater. Normally Merrill did this kind of stuff, but he was feeling depressed, so Graham decided to leave him alone. He went inside and didn't see anyone, so he figured they were upstairs with Bo.

He heard a bloodcurdling scream. He looked around for some sort of weapon, and seeing the only thing available was the poker for the fireplace, he grabbed that. He ran upstairs and into Bo's room, brandishing the poker. He found Merrill, Morgan, and Bo standing on the bed. They turned to stare at him and Graham followed their gaze to the corner and saw…. A mouse. _A mouse. _He had feared for his chidrens lives because of a mouse.

Bo being afraid of a mouse was understandable, but Morgan, and _Merrill_, who was a grown man…Graham shock his head in mock disgust.

"I know!" Merrill half shouted. It's disgusting!" Then realizing Graham was disgusted at him, he climbed down from the bed and sheepishly lifted Bo and Morgan down.

"Merrill. It's dead." Merrill ignored him and turned to the kids.

"Morgan? Do you want to go swimming? Bo, I'll help you build a sandcastle," When they nodded, he picked up Bo and and they all walked out of the room. Merrill said over his shoulder: "We'll let your big tough dad pick up the mouse."

A/N: Yes so, this chapter. Finally got to the mouse part. In my origional story, it went much faster and the mouse part came earlier, so sorry about all the hours you probbably spent trying to figure out the name (yeah right) A correction. A ahem, helpful friend who shall not be named (Katya) pointed out that your not supposed to put Dr. and M.D in the same name. So sorry about that. And as for Bo being in the hospital over night, I wasn't sure if you would stay over night for a fever, but whatever.


	11. Cinderella

A/N Parts of this story are taken from a skit we did in drama, so now, I really do own nothing. L                                                                    

"Morgan, I'm hungy."

"Hungy?"

"Hungry. Should we wake one of them up?" Graham and Merrill were asleep on the beach chairs in front of the water. 

"I don't know. They might get kind of peeved."

"What's peeved?"

"Never mind. We do have to wake one of them up. I have an idea." Morgan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Mouse!"

Merrill flipped over, turned around, and fell of the chair. He got up and looked around. When he saw Morgan and Bo giggling, he frowned, and stalked toward the house. Morgan and Bo stopped smiling when they realized he was mad.

Bo ran after him. "Uncle Mer-rill! We didn't mean to do it--- Morgan made me do it---- We were just hunnngrryy," she cried. 

Merrill turned around and scooped Bo of the ground. Morgan could see he was actually smiling. Merrill carried Bo upside-down into the house, with her kicking, screaming and laughing the whole time.

Merrill made some peanut butter sandwiches while Bo and Morgan sat down at the table.

"Uncle Merrill," asked Bo. "Are we going to stay at the cottage forever?"

Merrill came and sat down with the plate of sandwiches. "Don't you like it here?"

"Well I guess so, but I want to go home too," She pouted. "I can't even go swimming yet."

"I'm sure you'll be able to go swimming tomorrow," Merrill assured her. "Oh, here comes your Dad," Graham walked in and closed the sliding door behind him.

"Are you having sandwiches? It's almost time for dinner."

Merrill pointed at the plate of sandwiches, his mouth full. "Dinner."

Graham frowned slightly, then shrugged and sat down at the scrubbed wood table. His nose was bright red. "Guess we should have put some sunscreen on, huh?" Merrill commented. 

"Yeah," said Graham, rubbing his nose tentatively. Just then the phone rang. "I'll get it," said Graham, standing up and motioning the kids to sit back down. He went over and picked up the phone that was attached to the wall.

"Hello? Oh, Hi doctor," Merrill looked up. "Yes, we're just eating dinner now. Bo's fever hasn't gone back up. No, she's not going swimming. What? Uh…just a second," Graham covered the phone with his hand. "She wants to talk to you," He whispered to Merrill.

"Tell her I'm not here."

"Merrill, grow up. Take the phone," Graham handed the phone to Merrill, who reluctantly got up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Merrill. It's me, Amie. Did you come to the hospital looking for me?"

"Uh, yeah. But it's not important."

"O-Kay. So why did you come?" Merrill didn't want to say anything. So he just went to the next option in his head.

"You're married," he said.

There was silence on the other end. "Pardon me?" She said eventually.

"You're married," Merrill repeated. 

"What," she said quietly, "are you talking about?" Her voice raised a notch. "Being married is a perfectly legal practice throughout north America. Why are you accusing me like it's a bad thing? First of all, in that whole time we were talking, you never showed any signs that you were interested in me," She sounded really angry.

"You're right," he said apologetically. "I'm sorry. Was there a second of all?"

"First of all, I'm always right," she joked. "Second of all… I forgot what I was going to say," Merrill smiled weakly.

"Look Merrill, I'm not married. If you're not busy, would you like to go get a pizza or something?" Merrill's spirits soared. 

"Yeah, sure, when?" Merrill said trying to hide the ecstaticness in his voice (A/N Is that a word?)

"No time like the present. How about I meet you in front of the pizza place in 45?"

"Great!" Merrill hung up the phone. He turned to Graham with a smile on his face.

Graham tossed him the keys. "Back before midnight, Cinderella."

                                                ***

"Hey," Graham greeted Merrill as he walked into the cottage. Merrill closed the heavy oak door and threw his keys onto the table, where Graham was eating cereal, and sat down.  "How was your date?"

  "Okay," said Merrill. "Are the kids in bed?" When Graham nodded, he eyed the bowl of cereal.  "It's ten o'clock. Why are you eating cereal?" 

 Graham narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why are you changing the subject?"

  Merrill shrugged. "I'm not."

"You are. It didn't go well, did it?" Graham sighed.  The last time Merrill actually liked a girl for more than two days was when he went to Vegas with his "girlfriend." He came back two hundred dollars in the hole; hung over, and married to someone who was definitely not the woman he left with. Surprisingly, they stayed married for nearly a week before getting a divorce. 

   "No, it was fine. She was fine. We got pizza and then walked around for a while.  She just seemed a lot…different from the Amie I met in the hospital."

   "Well, what did you expect? That she would come on a date crying her eyes out?"

   "No, but---"

"But nothing. Your making trouble where there is none. Why do you like to do that? "

   Merrill stood up, and his chair screeched loudly against the wooden floor. "I don't like to do that."

   "Yes you do. Every time you get bored with a relationship you make up reasons to end it. People aren't toys Merrill."

"You told me when I divorced Carole that you wouldn't hold it against me."

"I didn't, and I'm not," Graham got up and put his bowl in the sink. "I'm to tired right now to listen to what was wrong with this one. I'm going to bed," He started up the stairs. 

Merrill opened his mouth in anger. "Graham!" He said sharply. "What's your problem?"

Graham swivelled around on the stairs. "My _problem_," he said indignantly. "Is that you promised to help me take care of my children, and instead you're out cavorting around with different women all the time."

"When was the last time I went out? It must have been three weeks ago!"

"That's not the point Merrill. I just thought you'd have a little more consideration for my feelings, that's all."

"Is that what this is all about?" asked Merrill, stricken with guilt. "You missing Colleen?" 

Graham sat down so that he was sitting on the steps and put his face in his hands. "No," He said resignedly. "That's not it." Merrill came over and sat next Graham.

   "What is it then? " Merrill asked, confused. After Graham's speech, Merrill didn't think Graham was worried that he was going to get married and leave him and the kid's alone. He would never in a million years _ever_ do that.

"I do miss Colleen. So much that sometimes I wonder if I'll ever feel happy again…but the kids do need someone like a mother to them. And I don't think I'll ever be able to marry again, at least not anytime soon. When you do have a steady relationship with someone, I don't want to the kids to become attached to her. Because when you find something wrong with her, you'll dump her, just like you did all the others, and the children will lose someone else important to them. I don't want that to happen again, Merrill."

   "I'm sorry Graham," whispered Merrill, feeling guiltier than he had in his life. 

"I know you are," Graham got up and walked up the stairs, leaving Merrill to his own thoughts. So he hadn't found the right woman yet. __

"Oh, and I was thinking," came Grahams voice from behind him. "I think we should take to kids to church tomorrow morning, even though it's Monday. Do you think the church has weekday services?"

"Probably," said Merrill, smiling.  

                                                            *


End file.
